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Your Valentine’s roses came with a big plane ticket

FLOWERS BY AIR: A group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials check imported flowers at Miami International Airport. Each year, 715 million flowers come through Miami International Airport. Photo: Associated Press/J Pat Carter

MIAMI (AP) — As your sweetie gives you that dozen of roses or other flowers today — you might want to think about how many miles those bouquets have logged before they end up in your hand.

It’s estimated that 85 percent of the flowers imported into the United States — including most Valentine’s Day roses — arrive by plane at Miami International Airport.

Many of those flowers ride below hordes of harried passengers — in the bellies of commercial jets.

Once the planes touch down, and passengers scurry off to grab their luggage, the flowers are rushed to chilled warehouses.

After that, it’s a ride on a refrigerated truck or to other planes before they end up at a florist, grocery store or gas station near you.